


the way i like you

by azunshi



Series: asanoya week 2020 [6]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Canon Compliant, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M, Self-Indulgent, Sharing a Bed, Sharing a Room, wink wink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:34:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26037970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/azunshi/pseuds/azunshi
Summary: “Ah, I think this is it,” says Asahi when they reach their room. He takes in the sight of it, the frown on his face creasing his already pinched forehead even more. Judging from the simple yet beautiful decor characteristic of traditional Japanese design, the size of the room and the view of the forest and mountains beyond their window, this room is definitely out of their budget.Someone is definitely going to get fired for this, Asahi thinks as he looks for a place to put his bag down,for practically giving away such an expensive room.“They were not kidding about the bed,” remarks Nishinoya when they find themselves in the sleeping area of the room.where a mix up in the reservations leads to two people from the Karasuno volleyball club sharing a room for the evening.
Relationships: Azumane Asahi/Nishinoya Yuu
Series: asanoya week 2020 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1882087
Comments: 10
Kudos: 131
Collections: Asanoya (main pairing), Asanoya Week 2020





	the way i like you

**Author's Note:**

> for day 7 of [asanoya week 2020](https://twitter.com/asanoyaweek)  
> prompt: sharing a bed OR ~~soulmate~~
> 
> because i like cuddles but i also want their confessions to go well heh
> 
> update: i just realized i posted this without a summary smh guess i was too excited to put this one up but ahh i think the summary should be up by now ~~this is so embarrassing h~~

“Ah, it seems we have encountered a slight problem,” says Suga with a rueful smile as he approaches the rest of the team, who are seated around the waiting area with their bags. Expressions of anxiousness are mirrored on everyone’s faces as they turn towards Suga, waiting for an explanation.

“What _kind_ of problem?” Asahi asks his fellow third-year, his tone prickling with apprehension. He knew the past few days of spring break travelling around the prefecture with the volleyball team had been too good to be true. There always had to be at least one inconvenience to be encountered when one travels. 

When Suga opens his mouth to answer, Daichi returns from the reception with everyone’s keys and says, “Two of you will have to share a room,” in a rather matter-of-factly tone, contrasting vastly with Suga’s initial announcement.

The team’s worry turns into confusion, and annoyance from the surlier first-years who have grown weary from the trip to this inn. Tsukishima demands impatiently how this would be any different from their usual room arrangements, where everyone is grouped in four, their roommates drawn by lots — except Kiyoko and Yachi, who always share a room together because it wouldn’t be appropriate nor comfortable to camp in a room with the boys. Hinata asks how there would be a slight problem about 2 people sharing a room since Kiyoko and Yachi do it already.

“There’s only one bed,” answers Daichi, unfazed by the responses from the team. “Look, it’s not ideal that the _ryokan_ messed up our reservations and can’t do anything to change it,” he says as the protests from the team get louder, “but if you’re not happy about it, you’re always welcome to sleep outside.” The last few words of that sentence effectively silences the protests. Daichi sighs, shaking his head at them. “Anyway, you know the drill: we’ll determine the arrangements by lots.”

Breaths are held as Daichi puts names in a random group generator on his phone, the boys eager yet dreading to know the results. After the training camps they’ve had over the past year, everyone is familiar with the nightly habits of their team members. Like Daichi’s tendency to talk in his sleep, Tsukishima’s need to cuddle his dinosaur plushie to fall asleep, Narita’s nightly gas emissions and Hinata flailing in his dreams— to name a few. 

Asahi doubts anyone is feeling as anxious about the results as he is. He loves his teammates, don’t get him wrong, but he hopes he doesn’t end up with _that_ room. It’s not that he has any reservations about sharing a bed with anyone from the team. He thinks it’s awkward at best, uncomfortable at worst. But then, he tells himself, it’s not like his teammates are total strangers. Why should it be a problem? Besides, Asahi doesn’t roll much in his sleep and he’s a pretty deep sleeper so there probably won’t be as much trouble as he’s anticipating. 

But in the event that he _does_ end up having to share a bed with someone, he hopes it’d be anyone except Nishinoya. Not that Nishinoya had any bad night habits or anything. It’s just … this would be one of those situations where Asahi would be highly uncomfortable about being involved in.

As if sensing Asahi’s thoughts, Nishinoya glances his way. Eyebrows arched, arms crossed, it’s almost like he’s silently asking Asahi “Why? Why not me?” Asahi gives a small, almost imperceptible shake of his head and turns away.

There are 12 of them, excluding Kiyoko and Yachi who have their own room by default, and they’re usually grouped in fours but Daichi explains that they’ll be grouped in fives except for the two who are sharing the bed. Daichi begins to call out names from the list, Asahi’s heart sinking further from his chest to his stomach as neither of the names belong to him.

Maybe he’d done something wrong, that this was karma, because when Daichi calls out the last name, which happens to be Tanaka’s, Asahi knew luck was not on his side today. Daichi pats his shoulder in reassurance or good luck while he reaches down for his hand, pressing the key into his palm. Though Daichi’s expression appears nonchalant, the gleam in his eyes gives him away. 

“What?” says Asahi, a little annoyed that his friend is amused by this outcome. He narrows his eyes at Daichi in suspicion but his friend turns to give the keys to the others. He looks to Suga for explanation, because of course Suga would know what was up with Daichi, but his friend joins the rest of his roommates. Asahi thought he saw a little smirk on his face. 

A light tap on his shoulder causes him to turn around. “Hey,” says NIshinoya, hoisting his duffel bag on his shoulder.

Most of the time, Nishinoya’s pretty easy to read. When he’s excited, the light in his eyes would rival that of the sun’s, the volume of his voice incredibly magnified, and when he starts talking, it’s pretty hard to catch up with what he’s saying because he’s all exhilarated babbling. When he’s upset, his face becomes as dark as storm clouds, the gaze in his eyes as sharp as knives and the tone of his voice carrying an edge akin to the moment before lightning strikes. But the look on Nishinoya’s face is carefully neutral, almost impassive; Asahi has never seen Nishinoya like this when his emotions are no longer worn on his sleeves. 

It frightens Asahi somewhat.

“Hi,” Asahi manages, clearing his throat. He holds up the keys in his hand. “So, should we head to …” he trails off. He doesn’t want to call it our room, thinking it’s much too awkward to say it like that.

“Yeah, I’m really pooped. I could use a nice warm futon, honestly,” answers Nishinoya without missing a beat. “Lead the way.”

Strangely, their room is located on the opposite wing of where the others are staying. Asahi wonders how anyone can mess up room reservations so bad. As they pass through the corridor leading to their room, the jitters in Asahi’s stomach only grow with every step. 

“Ah, I think this is it,” says Asahi when they reach their room. He takes in the sight of it, the frown on his face creasing his already pinched forehead even more. Judging from the simple yet beautiful decor characteristic of traditional Japanese design, the size of the room and the view of the forest and mountains beyond their window, this room is definitely out of their budget. Someone is _definitely_ going to get fired for this, Asahi thinks as he looks for a place to put his bag down, for practically giving away such an expensive room.

“They were not kidding about the bed,” remarks Nishinoya when they find themselves in the sleeping area of the room. 

The futon mattress sits in the center of the room, looking comfortable and inviting with its fluffy duvet. Though it’s clearly meant for two to sleep in, Asahi doubts the distance between them would be enough. Maybe if he slept at the edge and tried not to move too much in his sleep, he’d be fine, right? No chance of waking up the next morning with —

“So, left or right?” asks Nishinoya, flashing one of his quicksilver grins.

Asahi gives a small start. His face flushes as his gaze flits between Nishinoya to the futon then back at Nishinoya. “A-ah, I’m fine with whichever,” he mumbles, scratching the back of his neck.

Nishinoya’s grin widens. “Cool. Left for me then!” He tosses his bag down by his newly claimed side of the futon while Asahi sheepishly sets his bag by the other side. It seems Nishinoya’s gone back to his usual self, a radiant ball of energy and enthusiasm, as he flops over on the futon, face-first. 

Asahi gets up to look around the room. He finds a room service menu on the low dining table, admiring the photos of the choices. He takes a look at the eye-watering prices and puts it back without a second glance. He also peruses a list of channels for the tv in the room before wandering over to the _shoji_ doors. Sliding it open, he finds himself staring out a courtyard garden through another set of glass doors.

It’s almost evening now, the sky outside a twilight blue streaked with gold, pink and orange. The stone lanterns in the garden are lit, casting a strange though mysterious glow over the traditional Japanese garden in the courtyard. Asahi stands there for a few moments, soaking up the scene before turning around.

Nishinoya hasn’t moved from his spot, still lying down while scrolling through his phone. He doesn’t look up when Asahi comes back inside but says, “So, the group chat’s been super busy since we came.”

Asahi’s eyebrows lift. He hadn’t checked his phone since he came here but isn’t surprised when he digs his phone out of his pocket to find plenty of text notifications from the group. He scrolls to them, eyebrows arching higher when he reads through them. Most of them are questions about the room, regarding details as noticeable as the room size to as subtle as how the futon feels. However, the one that makes him frown is from Hinata, which reads _Can we all come over and chill? Pretty please????_

“Um, did Hinata just ask … ?”

“Yeah.” Nishinoya snorts, putting his phone down. “Do you want to let them come over?” 

Asahi sits down on the edge of his side of the futon. Nishinoya glances over at him with a look of mild curiosity. “Ah, I don’t mind either way,” he says, though if he was being completely honest, he’d rather his teammates come over. 

Something flickers in Nishinoya’s expression but before Asahi can ascertain what he saw, Nishinoya throws an arm over his face. After a few moments, he says, “Actually, I want some space to myself. I mean, we just got here.”

Asahi nods. They did have a long trip to get to this _ryokan_ on a bus, being jostled here and there in a cramped space. A rest after the journey sounds great, although Asahi probably had to make himself comfortable elsewhere. Maybe in that courtyard garden they passed by, where he can watch the koi swim around in the pond or something. There must be a nice bench for him to sit with his thoughts. 

“Asahi-san?” 

“Hm?” Asahi glances over his shoulder. 

Nishinoya hasn’t moved from his spot although the arm over his face now lays over his abdomen. A strange look occupies his expression as he regards Asahi. “Do you mind turning off the lights?”

Asahi obliges, getting up to search for the switch. He locates it along the wall, near the fusuma closet. The room plunges into darkness, the only source of illumination preventing Asahi from tripping in the dark filtering through shoji doors leading to the courtyard outside. As Asahi picks his way back carefully, he hears Nishinoya call his name once more. “Yeah?” he turns towards the general direction of Nishinoya’s voice, making out the outline of him on the futon.

Nishinoya is sitting up, neck craned to look up at him. Despite the darkness, his amber eyes appear lambent with a serious light in them; the look surprises Asahi. Not breaking his gaze from Asahi, he pats the spot beside him.

Asahi’s heartbeat comes to a momentary stop, before resuming at a stuttering pace. Thankfully, it’s dark enough that Nishinoya can’t catch the spreading flush across Asahi’s cheeks. “What?” says Asahi, his voice a little higher than usual. It’s not that he doesn’t get what the gesture means, it’s just … why?

“Lie down next to me,” says Nishinoya. Asahi’s face grows hotter in response. A slow smile pulls the corner of Nishinoya’s lips up as a small chuckle escapes from him. “I won’t bite,” he promises though that’s not what Asahi is getting embarrassed about.

Against better reasoning, Asahi finds himself settling down next to Nishinoya. He glances at the boy beside him, fidgeting nervously. 

Since returning to the volleyball club, Asahi learned a lot of important lessons like trusting himself and his teammates, how to be more confident in his abilities and knowing that it’s alright to ask for help. But if there was one thing he has yet to learn, it was how to control his feelings towards Nishinoya. 

It hadn’t always been this out of hand though. The first few months he knew Nishinoya had been okay but things gradually went downhill the more he got to know Nishinoya. It started with the little things, like the way Nishinoya’s eyes light up when he talks about the things he likes, how he bounces on the balls of his feet when he gets excited and the way his smile sits crookedly on his lips. The devastating little details eventually snowballed into the realization that Asahi thought of Nishinoya differently than he did about others.

He tried not to think too much about it, but the tipping point was when the two of them returned to the club. It had been incredibly awkward being around Nishinoya, knowing that he didn’t want to play unless Asahi was on the team. When Asahi found the courage to ask him why he did that, Nishinoya sighed, lips folding into a thin line. “Because I didn’t want to do it without you,” he said like it was a universal truth that everyone knew. Asahi shouldn’t have thought too much about that but he remembered the moment he heard that, the world grinded to a halt around him.

Asahi had done well to keep his feelings a secret. The only times he ever felt like his secrets were on the verge of exposing themselves when it was just him and Nishinoya, alone together. Of course, there were never any real opportunities to confess and Asahi planned to keep it that way.

Until now. 

Until now when Nishinoya asked him to lie down next to him.

Yet he finds himself facing the ceiling, heart racing in his throat, with the weight of Nishinoya’s presence bearing down on him. His breaths feel too shallow, his face too hot, and every muscle too tense. 

The sheets next to him rustle faintly as Nishinoya turns to face him. Asahi doesn’t look at him, doesn’t dare to for the fear that he won’t be able to stop himself from doing something stupid. 

“Asahi-san,” says Nishinoya, his voice soft and gentle and unlike whatever Asahi is used to hearing. The surprise causes him to turn his head. And even though Nishinoya isn’t doing anything special, just looking at him this close makes Asahi forget how to breathe properly for a second.

Even though it’s too dark to see all the minute details of Nishinoya’s features, Asahi can make out the shape of his lips, his half-lidded eyes and the thoughtfulness in his expression. “Can I be honest with you?” asks Nishinoya.

Asahi swallows. He knows with questions like this, he can’t answer them lightly. These questions always have consequences, sometimes terrible. All this time he had thought of Nishinoya as the most honest person he knows but after hearing this question, he can’t help wondering if maybe he had been deluding himself the whole time. Despite his apprehension, Asahi sees himself, as if from a distance, turning to face Nishinoya and nodding.

Nishinoya blinks, surprise flashing over his face, before he draws a breath. “Now, I’m going to be completely upfront about this,” he promises, his voice sounding strangely tight, “because if I try thinking too much about how to put it in words, I’ll end up losing my nerve.”

The statement catches Asahi off-guard. The bold and brave Nishinoya losing his nerve? That didn’t sound right. But he remains silent, keeping his doubts to himself as Nishinoya gathers his composure to continue.

It takes him a heartbeat or two for Nishinoya before he says, “I like you very much.” 

Even though it’s not what Asahi was expecting—at least, not on a conscious level—all the tension in his body, even the ones he didn’t realize he had, is released all at once. Asahi’s eyes lock with Nishinoya’s lambent ones through the dark, lips parting to speak. “Nishinoya,” he says, his crush’s name on his tongue heavy with surprise, relief and nervousness.

“You don’t have to like me back,” says Nishinoya quickly, the tightness in his voice driving a sharp pang of recognition through Asahi. It’s fear, the fear of being rejected for speaking a simple truth. “I just thought I should tell you before —” He breaks off. “Before you graduate.”

Asahi blinks. 

“I know it’s stupid and that I should’ve mentioned it sooner but I needed … I needed a good opportunity and there wasn’t one,” continues Nishinoya. “And when there _was_ one I just _chickened_ out. Anyway, I thought now would be a good time since it’s just the two of us but I completely understand if you want to swap rooms with someone else because of —”

“I don’t,” says Asahi before Nishinoya can run off the rails. Nishinoya stares at him, mouth open. Asahi’s face heats up but, with his heart beating furiously in his chest, he continues, “I don’t want to swap with anyone else. And I don’t think it’s stupid that you told me now. I mean, it takes a lot of courage to tell someone you like them.” 

Nishinoya looks at Asahi, lips pressed together. “You think so?” he asks in an uncertain but hopeful tone.

“I _know_ so.” A small embarrassed laugh bubbles its way out of Asahi’s throat. “I should know since I can never muster enough courage to tell you that I like you too,” he confesses.

A few beats of silence pass between them before Nishinoya’s eyes widen. “Wait, so … —” He frowns, putting two and two together. “Just so we’re on the same page, you like me the way I like you, right?” he asks. Asahi smiles, nodding. Nishinoya opens his mouth, closes it then opens it again. “Ah.” For some reason, he sounds astonished. “That went better than I thought,” he mumbles under his breath, thinking Asahi wouldn’t hear.

Asahi snorts. “What did you expect?”

Though it’s too dark to see, Asahi is certain Nishinoya is blushing as much as he did. “I dunno. I thought you’d smile and either tell me nicely that you don’t think of me the same way or that you’d secretly think I’m a weirdo.”

“I don’t think you’re a weirdo.”

“Thank you,” says Nishinoya. He turns on his back, staring up at the ceiling. Asahi can hear him breathing deeply as he tries to gather his thoughts. “But you must think it’s weird that I asked you to turn off the lights then confess to you, right?”

“Well, a bit,” admits Asahi sheepishly. “I thought you wanted to sleep.”

“Yeah, I wanted to. My head was hurting real bad.” 

“Oh, do you want me to get you anything?” asks Asahi, moving to get up. “Some water or? I think I have some aspirin —”

Nishinoya laughs, shaking his head. “It’s fine.”

“Really?” Asahi’s lips purse together in concern. “Is there anything I can do?”

“Well …” Nishinoya trails off, the corners of his lips tugging upwards as his eyes gleam with a strange, mischievous light. Asahi only has a moment to think Uh-oh when Nishinoya looks up at him with what he thinks is the puppy dog eyes look. “We could cuddle?” he suggests playfully. “But if you don’t want to, I’ll shut up —”

“Um, yeah, okay.” Asahi blushes, once again surprised by his own response. For a moment he worries he might have sounded a bit too enthusiastic but when he glances over at Nishinoya, finding the other boy practically radiating with enthusiasm, his concern is forgotten.

They exchange a silent look of understanding before trying to cuddle. Of course, neither of them really know how to cuddle and they end up fumbling around a bit, accidentally elbowing the other or squashing the other’s hand. They eventually find a comfortable position with Asahi resting his head on Nishinoya’s chest and Nishinoya’s arm circled around his shoulder.

They lay there in silence, listening to their heartbeat and each other’s breathing. It’s nice, Asahi thinks, and comforting to be wrapped up in Nishinoya’s embrace like this. Nishinoya’s free hand moves towards his hair, gently stroking his hair at a soothing rhythm; Asahi’s eyelids begin to droop as a cloud of drowsiness envelops his brain.

“Can we stay here like this forever?” whispers Nishinoya, his lips brushing over Asahi’s forehead.

“Sounds good to me,” says Asahi and the two of them drift off to sleep in each other’s arms.

**Author's Note:**

> aaand we have reach the end of asanoya week! i cant believe this week went by so fast! it was really fun joining this event and im really happy to see the amount of contributions to the collection as well as the tag! really hoping the mods will consider running this again sometimes in the future but anyway, thank you so much for reading this fic, and my other fics for this week if you have!
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/azunshi) | [tumblr](https://avatarclub.tumblr.com)


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